In the Ring
by skyechild
Summary: The Joker kidnaps Robin while he's on his way to the mountain. He forces him to fight other villains as a form of entertainment. Aqualad ends up finding him, but gets captured. What will happen when Robin and Aqualad are forced to fight each other? Will Batman and Young Justice find them before something horrible happens to them?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Young Justice. I just love it very much.

Kaldur, M'gann and Conner had just arrived to Mount Justice. The whole team had to be there by 3:00pm. It was a school day, so Batman had to wait for 3 members of the team to get out of school in order to give them a new covert mission. He was going to allow the team to go to Gotham and help him locate the Joker. Arkham had another breakout and the Joker and a few other villains escaped. Batman and Robin were tearing apart the city looking for them, but couldn't seem to find them.

It was only 2:40, so there was still time to wait. Wally got out at 2:45 while Robin and Artemis got out at 2:30. They should be at the mountain soon.

5 minutes had passed when they heard the zeta beams announcing Wally's arrival. Someone was eager for a mission.

"Good afternoon, Wally. You sure got here fast." Kaldur joked.

"Yeah, I got here in a flash." Wally responded with a smirk. Conner groaned. "Are Rob and Artemis here yet?"

"No, not yet. They should be very soon though." M'gann answered.

"Slow pokes." Wally snickered. He then zipped into the kitchen and grabbed a snack. When he returned to the main room, they all heard the zeta beams announcing Artemis. She walked up to the group and spotted Wally eating cheese puffs.

"Of course." Artemis scoffed to Wally.

"What! I need to restore my energy for the mission." Wally said in his defense.

"Do we even know what the mission is yet?" Artemis asked.

"Not yet. Batman and Robin should be here any minute now to give us the assignment." Kaldur explained. They continued to wait for Batman and their last team mate.

Right as the clock struck 3pm, the zeta beams announced Batman's arrival. Batman walked up to the team and looked at them for a second. He noticed that Robin wasn't there waiting.

"Where is Robin?" Batman asked in his usual dark tone.

"He has not arrived yet." Kaldur answered. Batman was surprised. Robin was never late.

Batman pushed the communicator on his glove that only connected to Robin. "Robin, you're late." He waited a few seconds and got no response. "Robin, report." Batman demanded. Nothing.

Batman walked toward the computers and the team followed. Batman could locate Robin's tracer in his utility belt from the computer. Before he could sit down, the screens turned on and there was nothing but static. The team jumped back. The static started clearing up and all they could see was an empty room.

"HELLOOO KIDDIES!" Joker yelled as he jumped in front of the camera. The team jumped again. This caused Joker to laugh hysterically. Batman didn't even move a muscle.

"Oh! Good! Batman, I'm glad you're here. I have something of yours." Joker smiled evilly. He walked away from the camera for a second and came back dragging Robin behind him by his cape. Robin didn't look injured, but he was unconscious. Batman tensed up.

"Why so serious? He's fine, just taking a little nap. He'll need it for later." Joker said creepily.

"Joker, let him go. You have nothing to gain from hurting him." Batman said angrily. Joker laughed in response.

"Oh yes I do. I have the opportunity to make you very, very, very angry. Nothing would make me happier than to see you angry, Batsy." Joker taunted. The team didn't know what to do. They've never had to deal with the Joker. They all just heard awful stories from Robin about this guy. He was dangerous, and now he had Robin.

"Breaking out of Arkham was a piece of cake. But you'll probably find me, get your cop buddies to arrest me, and then take me back to Arkham like you always do. So I thought, better piss off the bat as much as possible while I'm out!" The Joker said in a creepy, excited tone.

"So tune in tonight at 8pm sharp to see the show! I can't wait to see your eager faces! HHAAHAHAHAAHA!" With that, Joker turned off the camera and they lost sight of Robin. Nobody moved for a full minute.

Conner decided to break the silence. "Batman." Batman slowly turned around and faced the team. They all had looks of horror on their faces. "Leave me to review the recording to get clues on his whereabouts." Batman demanded.

"Wait, you expect us to sit around and do nothing while you look over the video?" Wally yelled.

"Do you know where he is?" Batman hissed. Wally stiffened up and shook his head 'no'. "Then there isn't much we can do yet." Batman thought for a minute. In a way, Wally had a point. "Ms. Martian, get your ship and scan Gotham from the sky. Report back to me immediately if you see anything suspicious around the outskirts of Gotham. Take Conner with you. Stay out of sight. Kaldur, I want you to check the coast. There are multiple buildings on the shore that used to run on power generated by the water. Stay hidden and report any activity in that area. Artemis, help me review the recording. Move out." Batman demanded. M'gann and Connor immediately turned and ran to the ship. They were gone in less than 20 seconds. Kaldur went to the zeta beam and was gone. Artemis went over to the computers and grabbed a seat.

"Hey! What about me?!" Wally shouted. Batman grabbed Wally by the arm and brought him into the kitchen so they were out of earshot from Artemis.

"Robin went to school today. The Joker must've just grabbed him on his way to the zeta beam. I want you to go search for any clues around his school and work your way to the hidden zeta beam in the alley. Report to me immediately if you find anything." Batman ordered. Wally nodded and took off running. Batman went back to the computers and joined Artemis. She had already pulled up the video and was looking it over.

"Restart it." Batman demanded. Artemis started the video from the beginning again and they both watched it carefully. Batman needed to get Robin back fast. He tried not to let his emotions get to him as he reviewed the recording. He started trying to figure out what the Joker used to knock Robin out. He needed to know that he was okay.

Batman could feel Artemis glance at him from time to time. She could see a faint trace of emotion on his face and it shocked her. Batman had feelings?


	2. Chapter 2

Robin could hear movement around him, but he couldn't tell who-or what- it was. His head felt cloudy. He could hear a female voice humming near him, but he couldn't figure out who the voice belonged to. It sounded familiar. Robin tried to remember what happened before he let the person know he was awake. He remembered waking up and going to school. He was eager to get school over with because Batman had an assignment for him and the team. Alfred wasn't going to pick him up after school because Robin had to go straight to the mountain. He was going to change in an alley way and go to the hidden zeta beam to get to the mountain. He made it to the alley and put his costume on. Something happened after that, but Robin was having a hard time remembering. Someone grabbed him and put something over his face. Was it chloroform? All he remembers is darkness after that, so probably. But who took him?

"Mr. J, everyone should be here soon!"

Robin's heart skipped a beat. He definitely knew that voice. That was Harley. The Joker took him.

"Mr. J? I think the kid's awake!" Harley yelled in a happy voice. Uh oh.

"Excellent. It's almost time." The Joker said creepily as he walked into the room. He made his way over to Robin and leaned over him. "Hey, bird boy. Open your eyes." The Joker demanded. Robin obeyed and slowly opened them. He saw the Joker's face inches away from his own.

"There you are. I was getting worried. We have a big night ahead!" The Joker said excitedly.

"What do you want?" Robin asked weakly. The Joker stopped laughing and looked at Robin.

"To have a little fun, what else? You better get warmed up. Once our guests arrive, things are going to get a little…crazy." The Joker said quietly, sending a chill down Robin's spine. He sat up and reached for his utility belt, but it wasn't there.

"You'll get that back once we begin, don't you worry." The Joker laughed.

"Begin what?" Robin forced out. He was confused. The Joker was capable of so much. What was he going to do to him? The Joker grabbed Robin's arm and pulled him up to his feet. Robin stumbled a little before he gained his balance. He yanked his arm out of the Joker's hand, but he just grabbed it again, tighter. The Joker pulled him out of the room he woke up in and down a dim hallway. Robin tried to get away but the harder he tried, the harder Joker grabbed onto his arm. He was strong. They eventually entered a bigger room with a boxing ring in the middle.

"This is what you will be doing. You and some of my friends will be providing us with some entertainment. It will be broadcasted to your little team as well. Doesn't this sound fun? HAHAHAHAHA!" Joker explained. "If you lose, you die. If you win, you'll fight someone else until you die. Got it?" The Joker could see the fear and confusion on Robin's face and laughed hysterically. "We begin at 8:00. It's almost 7:30, so you better go get ready!"

The Joker dragged Robin over to a closet on the other side of the room. He threw him in there and closed the door. Robin could hear it being locked. Looking around, he quickly noticed his belt sitting on a shelf. He grabbed it and immediately went for the communicator. He took it out, but saw that it was smashed. How was he supposed to contact Batman to let him know that he was in trouble? They must know that something is wrong by now since he didn't show up for the mission debriefing. The Joker said that the team would see what was about to happen, but Robin still wasn't completely sure about what was happening. He had to fight a bunch of villains? Everything else was in his belt, so at least he had that to his advantage.

Robin started looking around for a way to escape the closet, but there was no way. There wasn't enough room for him to use an exploding batarang unless he wanted to get hurt by it. The door was a large, thick metal door that couldn't easily be kicked down and the walls and ceiling were cement. He was screwed. After a few minutes of being in the closet, Robin began to hear many new voices. He recognized the Joker's, Bane's, the Penguin's, Harley's, and Poison Ivy's. There were many other voices that he didn't recognize. The large room was filling with people. Robin didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was terrified. He heard the door unlocking and it opened up. Bane was standing there holding the key. "Let's go, bird brat." He said viciously as he grabbed Robin and dragged him out into the large room with the boxing ring. The ring was surrounded by scary looking thugs and villains. Bane stopped next to the Joker and grabbed onto Robin's wrist and twisted it behind his back. He put his arm around Robin's chest so he couldn't get away. Robin tried struggling, but it was no use.

"Alright, it's show time!" The Joker shouted. Robin could see one of the thugs holding a big camera. All of this was going to show up on the team's computers and TV's. There was a small screen on the wall that lit up and the camera started recording.


	3. Chapter 3

M'gann and Conner had just reached Gotham City and began looking around. It took them 20 minutes to get there. They had until 8:00 to find him or else something bad was going to happen to him. They weren't sure what, but they knew it was going to be awful. This was the Joker they were dealing with.

"This city is a mess. I can't focus my hearing, there's too much sound." Conner said. "Is the ship invisible?"

"Yes. No one can see us. Batman said to focus more on the outskirts of Gotham. I'm assuming that's where all of the abandoned buildings are. If Robin had just gotten out of school when the Joker grabbed him, then he couldn't have gotten too far in a half an hour. He's gotta be here somewhere." M'gann explained. She reached for her communicator. "Ms. Martian to Batman, we have just arrived in Gotham. We have spotted nothing unusual yet." There was a pause.

"Keep your eyes peeled. Joker knows the best hiding places in Gotham." Batman's voice sounded over the communicator. "Wally is retracing Robin's path for clues. The video shows a room that doesn't have any windows or natural light so I'm guessing it's a basement. It looks old and damaged. Check the projects and the outskirts. Batman out." M'gann steered the bioship toward the rundown part of Gotham, assuming that it was the projects. Conner continued to scan the buildings and the ground for anything suspicious.

* * *

Kaldur stayed hidden under the water just off the shore. There were many abandoned buildings, but no activity. The buildings were destroyed. It looked as if there was a flood or a mini tsunami of some sort that caused all of this destruction a while ago. It would make the perfect place to hide someone. An hour had passed and Kaldur saw no vehicles or people. He decided to get out of the water and take a look. Batman wanted him to stay hidden in the water, but there was nothing to hide from. Kaldur snuck around each building and peeked inside. They were all empty.

"Aqualad to Batman, the buildings on the shore are all empty. There is no activity of any sort. Should I remain?"

"Check for any basements." Batman responded.

"Copy that. Aqualad out."

* * *

Wally made it to Gotham in under a minute. That was a new record for him and he would have to remember that for later. Now was not the time. He needed to find Robin. Batman had Wally go to Robin's school and the hidden zeta beam because Wally was the only one on the team who knew their secret identities, which meant he knew where Robin went to school. There were still a few students and teachers at Gotham Academy, so Wally had to stay hidden. Robin had his costume on in the video and there was no way he would change at school, so Kid Flash started walking towards the zeta beam. He walked down a few side streets and ended up in a quiet alley way. He stopped and looked around a bit. It was a little dark and there were nothing but dumpsters. Wally didn't spot anything too unusual, so he kept going. He made it all the way to the zeta beam before something caught his eye. Right outside of the old phone booth was a wet white cloth. Sure it was dirty over there, but Wally had a weird feeling about it. He walked over to it and picked it up. Underneath it was a batarang.

"Kid Flash to Batman, I found something."

* * *

Batman and Artemis paid very close attention to everything in the video. All they gathered was that there were no windows, so the building was blocked off. Maybe it was underground? Or maybe a basement? It had to be in Gotham. The Joker was known for sticking around when he pulled these kinds of stunts. Believe it or not, the Joker liked it when Batman came.

Batman was getting furious. What was he planning on doing at 8:00 that night? He needed to find Robin right away. He needed to save his son.

Batman zoomed in on Robin to make sure he didn't have any injuries. He wasn't bleeding nor was he covered in any bruises. The Joker either hit him in the head with something or used chloroform. Artemis saw Batman looking at Robin and felt bad. He really did care for Robin.

"Is it possible to trace the camera he was using?" Artemis asked. She wasn't all that good with technology, so she really didn't know.

"The camera had to have been hooked to a computer in order for it to be sent to us, so yes. But he has some kind of shield up so I can't trace it." Batman explained. Artemis could hear a faint trace of worry in Batman's voice. Batman knew the Joker better than anyone. He knew what he would do to Robin if he had the chance, and right now he has one.

Batman was pulled from his thoughts when he heard M'gann contact him through his communicator. She was just arriving to Gotham and Batman told her the information he had gathered from the video so far. Their conversation ended and he went back to scanning the video frame by frame. A little while later, Aqualad checked in. He instructed Aqualad to check the buildings for basements and Aqualad obeyed. Almost immediately after, Batman heard Kid Flash on his communicator.

"Kid Flash to Batman, I found something."

"What is it?" Batman demanded.

"I found a damp cloth that I am assuming is covered in chloroform right outside of the zeta beam. I found a batarang underneath it." Wally explained.

"I'll be right there. Kid Flash, don' .anything. Batman out." He said in a harsh tone. "Keep looking. I'll be back." Batman said to Artemis. She nodded her head and he was gone.

Batman beamed himself right to the old phone booth. Kid Flash was standing outside of it.

"It's right over there." Wally said pointing to the batarang and the cloth. Batman walked right over to them and picked them up. The batarang looked bent. He pulled out a bag and sealed the batarang in it. He wanted to take it to the cave to see whose finger prints were on it. There was no way Robin could have bent the batarang with his bare hands. Someone must have grabbed it from him while they put the chloroform over his mouth. Batman began to examine the ground. There were small foot prints and large foot prints over in a sandy part of the alley. The smaller ones were definitely Robin's. The Joker wasn't the one who grabbed him. It was either Bane or one of Joker's larger thugs.

Wally stayed in the same spot while Batman was looking around. He was too afraid of messing anything up. Normally he was a little more careless, but this was his best friend and he needed to be saved ASAP.

Batman spotted tire marks that headed toward Mill road, which lead to the outskirts of Gotham toward the old mill factories.

"He's in one of the factories a few miles from here." Batman said after 20 minutes of silence.

"How do you know?" Kid Flash asked. Batman gave him the bat glare. Wally should know better than to question Batman.

"The tire marks. That's where they are headed." Batman answered.

"But there are hundreds of buildings over there. How do we figure out which one he's in?"

"I'm going to go to the cave and look all of the buildings up and hopefully rule a bunch out. Ones that don't have basements in them. He's in a building with no windows so it's either underground or sealed off. I'll contact Ms. Martian and have her scan the area. We will find him." Batman said. A hint of hope tugged at Wally. This is Batman, the world's greatest detective. He would find Robin no matter what.

* * *

Batman returned to the mountain at 7:45. He was frustrated. It was almost time for the Joker's game, if that's what he should call it. The finger prints on the batarang belonged to a random guy who probably worked for the Joker. He was a big guy, so that explains how the batarang got bent. Batman was working on tracking the guy down, but he wasn't having much luck. There are no cameras anywhere near the alley way Robin was abducted in, nor were there any clues on what type of vehicle was used. Batman was still in the process of ruling out the old buildings in the area. There were just so many of them.

"Artemis, have you found anything?" Batman demanded.

"I think I just did. Look." Artemis answered. Batman walked quickly over to the computer. "I zoomed wayyyyyy in on the Joker's eyes. You can see a reflection of a door. There's the number 87 painted on it. Could that mean something? Could that be part of the address?" Artemis asked eagerly. Batman thought for a minute. 87 Mill Road? There was no 87 Mill road. It was torn down a while ago after it caught fire during a massive storm. There was nothing but dirt there.

Wally came through the zeta beams while Batman was trying to figure out a plan. Artemis didn't say anything to him. She just kept on looking over the video for any more clues.

"Find anything?" Wally asked, sounding a bit nervous.

"Possibly." Artemis said. Right then, M'gann and Conner came in with the bioship. Batman was furious. Why were they back?

Conner jumped out of the ship and immediately began looking at the outside of it. M'gann flew out and reported to Batman. "Batman, my ship started acting strange when I got to the projects in Gotham. She didn't want to fly. We barely made it back to figure out what's wrong." M'gann explained. "We tried contacting you, but something was preventing us from getting through."

Batman was furious. Only Aqualad was still out there looking. Before Batman could say anything, the computer screens went to static again and a few seconds later, Joker's face popped up. Batman tensed up. It was 8:00.

"Well! Look who is on time! Someone's ready for the show! HAHAHAHA!" The Joker yelled in excitement. The camera turned a bit and the team saw Robin being held by Bane. He had Robin's arm twisted behind his back and an arm around his chest preventing him from escaping.

"Alright, let's get this show started!"


	4. Chapter 4

Robin saw Batman and his team pop up on the screen next to the camera. Joker began talking and Bane gripped him harder. When the camera turned to him, he looked right into his mentor's eyes. Even through the mask, Robin could tell that Batman was worried. Batman and the team, minus Kaldur, stared right back at him. They were still at the cave, which meant they had no idea where he was. That made Robin terrified.

"Boy Wonder, are you ready to see who you will be up against for your first round?" Joker said evilly. Robin gave Joker an evil glare. "The person you will be fighting first will be…" Joker paused for dramatic effect. "Poison Ivy!"

Robin wasn't too scared at this. He's defeated Poison Ivy before, so he knew her weaknesses. However, he had no help, so he had to be careful. She was still pretty dangerous. Bane picked Robin up and threw him into the boxing ring. He landed hard on his hands and knees. Poison Ivy walked calmly into the ring and got ready to fight.

The team was shocked to see so many people there. There were multiple villains and dozens of thugs who worked for them. They could see fear and pain on Robin's face. Bane was holding him tight. Batman and Robin looked into each other's eyes and Batman could see that Robin knew they didn't know where he was yet. Batman felt horrible. He needed to save Robin fast.

Batman got angrier when he saw Bane throw Robin into a…boxing ring? Batman finally pieced it together. Robin had to fight each super villain as a form of entertainment for the Joker. Was the Joker going to play this game to get a good laugh and then kill Robin at the end? This was bad. This was all very, very bad.

Robin looked around and saw that there was no way for him to escape. There were thugs and villains all around the ring yelling and cheering. They would take him down in a heartbeat if he tried to run. He had to fight. He had to win.

The Joker sounded a bell. Poison Ivy used her vines that were wrapped around her and shot them toward Robin. He jumped in the air and used the vines to get high off the ground and away from her. He was pulled back down when a vine got ahold of his ankle. He hit the ground hard. All Poison Ivy had to do was prick him with a thorn and it would inject a toxin into him that could kill him. Robin pulled out a batarang and cut the vine off of his ankles. He began slicing the vines that were still coming for him. Poison Ivy just made the vines bigger and stronger. She grabbed the batarang out of Robin's hand and wrapped the vines around him. She threw him up in the air and slammed him back onto the floor again. Robin rolled over and got back up. He hurt, but he had to keep fighting. He knew that Ivy wouldn't use her toxins on him because she could accidentally infect everyone in the room. He reached into his belt and got a few of his explosive disks and threw them at her. They knocked her over and Robin used this to his advantage. He threw more disks at the vines, hoping to destroy them so she couldn't use them. He managed to catch her vines on fire. Poison Ivy screamed when she saw her precious plants burning. She swung a flaming vine at Robin and hit him in the arm. It burned Robin's skin. He ignored the pain and continued to throw explosive disks at Poison Ivy. While trying to deflect the disks, Poison Ivy backed up too far and fell out of the ring. She landed on her head and lost consciousness.

"AAAAND THE WINNER IS: BOY BLUNDER! HAHAHAHAHA!" The Joker announced. Robin was out of breath. "This is good because it only gets harder from here." The Joker said evilly. "But that's it for now. I hope you all enjoyed this round! Tune in at 8:00am tomorrow morning for round 2! Trust me, you won't want to miss it." Joker said into the camera. Bane walked into the ring and picked Robin up by his throat and dragged him away. Robin was already weak from Poison Ivy. The fight lasted about a half hour and it wiped him out. He was in pain and needed to rest. Joker turned the camera off as Bane threw Robin back into the closet he was in before. Joker went over to the closet and looked at Robin.

"Better get some rest. You're fighting Penguin tomorrow." He said with a creepy smile. He shut the door and locked it again. Penguin was a highly skilled fighter and this made Robin nervous. He needed to get out.

* * *

The team was silent. They were relieved that Robin won, but the Joker said that it would only get harder. Watching Bane choke Robin and drag him away made Batman furious. They had to find him now.

"Ms. Martian, where were you when your ship started acting strange?" Batman demanded.

"On the East side of the projects, close to the ground. We were above an old apartment building. There were a few people living in the building. We didn't have a chance to fully examine the property." M'gann explained. Batman immediately turned around and walked toward the zeta beam.

"Go search the projects on foot. Stay hidden." Batman ordered.

"Where is Kaldur?" Asked Artemis.

"He is searching the coast. I am leaving him there to continue. The Joker likes to play tricks so this might just be another trick of his to make us look there." Batman answered. He then zeta beamed straight to Gotham.

"Alright guys, let's go." Artemis said to the team. With that, they headed toward the zeta beam and were in Gotham in seconds.

* * *

Kaldur entered another building. The last 11 buildings were all empty, minus a few rodents. He knew that it was past 8:00 and that something had happened like the Joker said, but he wasn't sure what. He walked around the empty building in search for any basement doors but couldn't find any. As he was about to turn around to leave, he heard faint voices underneath him. Aqualad hid behind an old table that was knocked on its side as the voices grew louder. He peaked over the table and saw a few dirty looking thugs climb out of a trap door in the floor that he hadn't noticed.

"Do you think he'll kill 'im even if he wins?" One of the guys said to the others.

"Knowing the Joker, yeah. He hates that boy and his bat." A thug responded. The others seemed to agree as they left the building. Robin had to have been down there.

Aqualad waited until he couldn't hear the thug's voices anymore and called Batman on his communicator.

"Aqualad to Batman, I think I found where they are keeping Robin."

"Where?" Batman practically yelled.

"I'm at-" Kaldur was interrupted by a gun shot and a bullet that came only inches away from his head.

"Now now, don't spoil the fun." It was the Joker. Before Aqualad could do anything, he was surrounded by thugs. They all attacked him and had him before he could fight back.

"Aqualad! Come in! Aqualad!" Kaldur heard Batman shouting through the communicator. The Joker took it and spoke into it.

"Batsy, it wasn't very smart of you to send only one of your team members to find me. Now you're missing two, and you still don't know where I am! HHAHAAAAHAAHA!" The Joker cackled. He handed the communicator to one of his thugs and he smashed it.

"Put him in the room with the furnace. I heard this guy loves the heat!" The Joker ordered. The thugs kept their grips on Aqualad and dragged him down the trap door and down the long dim hallway and into the boiler room. It was very hot in there. The thugs shut the door and locked it. Aqualad immediately felt weakened by the heat. The thugs turned it all the way up before leaving and broke the knob so Kaldur couldn't turn it down. This was one of the rare times where Kaldur didn't know what to do.

* * *

"Joker has Kaldur." Batman said to the team through his communicator. "He was supposed to be on the coast. Superboy and Kid Flash, go to the coast and tell me if you see anything. I'm calling the League."

The team was shocked. Batman never needed to call the league. He could usually handle things on his own. Batman was desperate.


	5. Chapter 5

Robin managed to fall asleep for a little while. He propped himself up against the wall and dozed off. He was in pain from landing on the ground so hard. He was pretty sure he had a cracked rib or two. He was awoken by the sound of the closet door unlocking. In walked Harley carrying a small tray.

"Rise and shine, bird brat. It's time for breakfast. You need your strength. Mr. J said that the next round will be way more entertaining!" Harley said in a happy tone. She placed the tray in front of Robin, who was still sitting against the wall. It had some eggs and a piece of toast on it. He wasn't sure if he could trust the food.

"Now don't just sit there and stare at it, eat it! I swear I didn't poison it. We want you good and strong for your fight, now eat!" Harley shouted at him. She turned around and left, closing the door and locking it behind her. Robin didn't want to eat it. His sides hurt, and that was making his stomach hurt. He rested his head back on the wall and closed his eyes. Batman must be so disappointed in him. After all the training he's been through, how did he get captured so easily? He knew Batman must be freaking out looking all over for him and that made Robin feel bad. He has been trying so hard to prove to Batman that he can take care of himself, but this is proving that he can't. Robin felt like a failure.

* * *

About an hour passed by when he heard the Joker laughing outside of the door. It unlocked and opened and he walked in.

"Wow, Bird Boy. You won't even eat the breakfast Harley worked so hard to make you? You really are a brat." The Joker commented. Robin didn't say anything. The Joker crouched down in front of Robin. "Why so serious?" He asked in a creepy tone. He grabbed Robin's arm and pulled him to his feet and dragged him out of the closet and back to the ring. Everyone was starting to gather again. Was it 8:00am already? Robin saw the camera and figured it was. Bane walked up and grabbed him again, throwing him into the ring immediately. Robin let out a small cry as he landed on his side. If his ribs weren't broken before, they definitely were now. He managed to stand up and try to find Penguin. He was a little nervous. Penguin was very good at hand to hand combat and he could only imagine what Penguin would have in his umbrella.

He looked over to a big metal door that was opening and say more men come in. Two men were dragging someone. Robin knew that person. It was Aqualad. His heart stopped beating. Kaldur had managed to find him, but got captured in the process. He didn't look well either. He wasn't unconscious, but he was weak. He couldn't even stand.

"Alright everybody, show time!" The Joker yelled. Robin looked over to Aqualad, who was now looking back at him. Kaldur looked a bit confused. He wasn't at the mountain when the first fight had happened so he had no idea what was going on. Robin looked away from Kaldur when he noticed that Penguin had walked into the ring. It was time.

* * *

"Batman to Superman." Batman spoke over his communicator. It took a minute before Superman responded.

"What is it, Batman?" Superman asked, sounding concerned. Superman knew that Batman hardly ever called him for anything unless it was important.

"The Joker has Robin and Aqualad. It seems as though Arkham had a mass breakout and they are all together. We know the area they are in, but we are having a very hard time locating them. I…need your help." Batman barely forced out the last few words.

"What area are they in?" Superman asked.

"They're on the coast of Gotham, by the ocean in one of the many abandoned buildings."

"Copy that. I'll be there as soon as I can. Superman out." Batman sighed. He hated having to ask Superman for help, but Robin was in serious trouble and he needed to save him.

A few minutes passed and Superman appeared. He spotted Batman and landed next to him.

"Do you have any clues?" Superman asked. Batman gave him the bat glare.

"Just that he's in a basement of some sort and he is in a building with the number 87 painted on a door. I wondered if it was building #87, but that was torn down years ago. It doesn't exist." Batman explained.

"Unless…" Superman began. Batman stared at him. What does he mean 'unless'? Suddenly, it hit him.

"Unless they left the basement and covered it up." Batman said quietly, realizing what he's been missing. "Let's go." Superman took off flying and Batman jumped into his batmobile. They weren't far from the building, but they had to figure out how to get into the basement since there was nothing but dirt there.

"Batman to Ms. Martian, get everyone and meet me at 87 Mill Road. I know where they are."


	6. Chapter 6

Joker began filming, but he noticed that no one was at the mountain.

"Aw! Well that's no fun! I guess daddybats can't watch you get beat up. HAHHAHAHAA!" The Joker screeched. "Oh well. Let the fight begin!"

Penguin wasted no time. He immediately began running at Robin. Robin jumped up and dodged a hard punch. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out some exploding disks and threw them at Penguin. That didn't do anything though, just distracted him for a few seconds. Penguin ran at Robin again and started punching him. Robin blocked a few punches, but got hit by several more. All of the wind was knocked out of him. Penguin then punched Robin in the stomach. That air wasn't coming back any time soon. During this, Robin somehow managed to get some smoke pellets out of his belt and set them off. No one could see for a few seconds, so Robin used those few seconds to crawl away from Penguin and regain his breath. He pulled out his taser and prepared for when the smoke cleared. Once it did and he saw Penguin pulling out his umbrella, he shot the taser at him. It hit him in the stomach and Penguin fell on the floor. Robin used this opportunity to get Penguin's umbrella from him. The thugs were all cheering loudly as this was happening and it was quite distracting. Robin was dizzy and felt nauseous and the cheering was only making it worse. He had to focus. Sometimes Penguin had a gun in his umbrella and he could still fire it even though he was being tased. Robin decided to approach him from the side. He slid next to Penguin and ripped the umbrella out of his hands. Success! Robin spotted Aqualad as he stood up. He was trying to get away from the thugs, but he was still too weak. Robin could see a hint of fear in Kaldur's eyes. He was scared for Robin.

Penguin managed to rip the taser off of him and stood up slowly. He was angry that Robin was able to get his umbrella from him. He had poison in the tip and was going to stab him with it. He charged at Robin and put him in a headlock. Robin easily got out of it and swung his leg under Penguin's. He fell and Robin threw another explosive disk at him. It blew Penguin out of the ring.

"WINNER!" The Joker yelled. Everyone was cheering. Robin looked at Kaldur, who looked relieved. He nodded at Kaldur to let him know that he was okay, then fell to his knees. He was in pain. Penguin punched him hard in his ribs a few times and he was feeling very dizzy.

"Alright, everybody. I have a great idea! Let's keep this show going. Since fish boy over here was able to find us, I'm sure batsy's going to be here sooner than we expected. Our plan was to leave a dead bird for him to find, so let's follow through! Bring fish boy up here!" The Joker demanded. Two large thugs dragged Aqualad into the ring with Robin. They were both confused. Was the Joker going to execute them? No, that was too simple.

"Now, Boy Blunder and Mr. Fish Boy, you two are going to fight. To the death. HAHAHA!" The Joker laughed evilly. "Boy Blunder, if you choose not to fight, I'll just shoot fish boy and kill him. Then I'll kill you. If fish boy refuses to fight, I'll kill you. So either way, you're dead. FIGHT!" The Joker sounded his bell and sat down. The thugs started cheering again. Robin and Kaldur didn't know what to do. They weren't sure how close Batman was to finding them. They didn't know how much time they had. If Kaldur didn't fight, then the Joker would kill him. If Robin didn't fight, the Joker would kill both of them. They had to do something.

Robin and Kaldur looked into each other's eyes. They were both weak. They could read the fear in each other's eyes.

Robin got into a fighting stance and Kaldur did the same. They circled each other for a minute. They both understood that they would have to fight as if they were sparring at the mountain. They would have to fight as long as they could to buy them as much time as possible.

Kaldur ran at Robin and gently swung at him. Robin blocked the punch and swept his feet out from under him. Kaldur used his hand to flip and regain his footing. He roundhouse kicked at Robin, but it was blocked and Robin punched at Kaldur. He made contact with Kaldur's shoulder and he stumbled back. Robin charged at him and Kaldur blocked two punches and knocked Robin off of his feet. He flipped back and landed on his feet, only to have Kaldur kick him in the side. Robin let out a cry. His broken ribs were on fire. Aqualad immediately stopped fighting to check on Robin. He didn't know about his ribs.

"Robin!" Aqualad yelled. Robin slowly stood up and took a second to breathe.

"I'm fine, Aqualad." Robin forced out.

"This isn't entertaining enough. Bane, join them." Poison Ivy demanded. Bane jumped into the ring and immediately went after Aqualad. Aqualad took out his water bearers and hit Bane with it. The electricity slowed him down, but Bane still managed to punch Aqualad hard in the face. He then picked him up and threw him out of the ring and into the wall on the far side of the room. Aqualad stayed down.

Bane turned to Robin, who was breathing heavily, and charged. Robin tried to block Bane's hand, but it was no use. Bane punched Robin in the head hard enough to blow him to the other side of the ring. Robin couldn't move. Everything seemed like it was going in slow motion and he couldn't hear. As he tried to roll over, Bane picked him up off the floor by his throat and squeezed it tightly. Aqualad sat up and looked over at the ring. He saw Bane choking Robin, but Aqualad couldn't stand up to help him. He silently prayed for someone-anyone- to come and save them.

Kaldur's prayers were answered almost immediately when Superman, followed by Batman and the rest of the team came blasting through the ceiling. All of the thugs immediately started running. M'gann and Artemis went to stop Poison Ivy while Superboy chased after the thugs in the hallway they were running through. Kid Flash helped Kaldur into a sitting position and propped him up against a wall. Batman and Superman worked to defeat Bane, who was now holding an unconscious Robin by his throat. Superman used his heat vision to burn Bane's hand and made him drop Robin. Batman charged at him and used a batarang to cut Bane's venom supply. Bane was too distracted by Superman to notice. Batman successfully cut it and Bane collapsed. Batman immediately ran over to Robin. He was having a hard time breathing.

"I'll carry Robin to the bioship. It's faster." Superman said to Batman." You get the Joker."

"Call the Gotham PD so they can get the thugs." Batman ordered. Superman nodded and took off with Robin in his arms. Batman started running over to Ms. Martian. "You need to get back to the ship and fly back to Mount Justice. Make sure the team makes it on the ship before you leave."

"What about Poison Ivy?" M'gann asked.

"Leave them all to me and Superboy." Batman answered. M'gann flew over to Kaldur and helped Wally walk him over to the big hole in the ceiling before flying up to the ship with both of them. Artemis followed, using an arrow to pull herself up and out of the basement.

Batman found the Joker hiding in the closet he was keeping Robin in.

"Well, Batsy. Looks like you found me! What are you going to do, put me back in Arkham? HHAHAAHAHA! I escape every time. Go ahead, kill me. But first, tell me; is your little bird still alive?" The Joker laughed hysterically.

"I'm not going to kill you and you know that. I do, however, have just the thing for you." Batman grinned. The Joker looked a bit frightened as Batman grabbed him by the neck and stuck a needle in his arm.

"What's this?" The Joker choked out.

"You'll see." Batman said in a dark tone. He let go of the Joker and he fell to the ground. A few seconds later, the Joker started screaming in fear. Batman's job here was done.

Batman found Conner keeping the thugs trapped in the hallway. It turns out that the hallway lead to building #88. It was an underground entrance. Superboy moved a large piece of rock that fell from the ceiling to one end and guarded the other. The police had just arrived. Batman grabbed Conner and they both got out of there through the hole in the ceiling.

"Are Robin and Kaldur alright?" Superboy asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm not sure." Batman responded. Conner was stunned. Since when did Batman admit that he was unsure about something? Conner followed Batman to the Batmobile. "Get in."

"Woah. Really?" Conner asked. Batman gave him the bat glare. Conner jumped right into the car and buckled. The only other person who has ever ridden in the bat mobile was Robin. Superboy stayed silent during the ride to the zeta beam in Gotham. He could feel the anger coming off of Batman and he didn't want to say anything to upset him, so he just kept quiet.

When they reached the zeta beam, they both jumped out of the batmobile. Batman pressed a few buttons and the batmobile took off on its own. He went right into the phone booth and Conner followed. They both appeared in the main room of Mount Justice. M'gann, Artemis and Wally were sitting in the living room quietly. Conner joined them while Batman headed toward the medical room. As Batman was about to walk in, Kaldur walked out. They both stopped.

"How are you?" Batman asked in his usual tone.

"I am better. Still a bit drained, but I will be fine. I'm glad you all came when you did. Robin would have been dead if you came any later." Kaldur said. Batman nodded and walked around him to enter the medical room while Kaldur went to join the team. Batman spotted Superman standing over Robin, checking him over.

"How is he?" Batman demanded.

"3 broken ribs, a punctured lung, bruising all around his neck, a severe concussion and a broken collar bone. He's breathing better now that his ribs and lung are taken care of. He'll have to keep his arm in a sling for a few weeks. Hopefully he will wake up sometime today or tomorrow." Superman explained. He sounded very sympathetic. Superman looked over at Batman. He could see the sorrow on his face. "He'll be fine, Bruce. He's safe now."

Batman walked over to Robin and looked him over. His mask was off and he had a swollen face. He could see a purple hand print going completely around his neck . He could tell that Robin was in pain by the look on his face. "Have you given him anything for the pain?" Batman asked.

"Yes, it just hasn't kicked in yet. It should any minute now." Superman answered. Batman sat down in the chair next to him and pulled back his cowl. Bruce gently ran his fingers through Dick's hair. He was angry at himself. He wished he could have found him sooner so he wouldn't be this hurt. Bruce looked over and noticed that Superman had left the room. Bruce then leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Dick's forehead.

The team saw Superman come into the main room and immediately started attacking him with questions.

"Robin is going to be just fine." Superman shouted over all of them. "He's still unconscious so we have to wait for him to wake up. He won't be able to train for a few weeks." Everyone let out a sigh of relief. It was a bummer that Robin wouldn't be able to do much for a little while, but that was better than him being dead.

"You all should get some rest." Superman advised.

"It's only the afternoon!" Artemis argued.

"We're not leaving until Robin wakes up." Wally said. Everyone agreed.

"Fine. Stay here today and tonight. Just don't bother Batman." Superman warned. Everyone nodded and went back to the living room. Superman left and M'gann went into the kitchen to cook the team lunch. It was hard for everyone to eat though. They were too worried about their youngest teammate.

* * *

Pain. That's all Robin could feel. The pain was pulling him away from the comfortable darkness that seemed to be protecting him. Robin tried to move, but it caused even more discomfort. He felt a hand gently run through his hair and heard a calm, familiar voice tell him to relax and that everything was all right. Robin relaxed and let the darkness take over him once more.

* * *

Robin began to wake up once again, this time without all of the pain. There was a little, but it was more like an ache running through his body. His head felt cloudy and his throat felt swollen. He didn't know what was going on. Did the Joker still have him? Robin's eyes shot open. He immediately spotted Bruce hovering over him.

"Hey. Welcome back." Bruce said gently. Robin didn't respond. A wave of relief washed over him, but what happened? How did he end up here? Last he remembered, he was fighting Aqualad. Bane had joined in, and that's all he could remember. Bruce could see the confusion on his face.

"Kaldur ended up finding you. I knew which area he was in when he disappeared. I called in Superman to help me find both of you. You were under ground. We got both of you out just in time. The Joker and everyone else are back in Arkham and in jail. Everything is fine, Dick." Bruce said in confidence. Richard relaxed. He was safe with Bruce and that's all that mattered right now. Dick tried to talk, but he just didn't have the energy and his throat hurt too much.

"You're on a lot of pain medication, so you should rest. I won't leave if you don't want me to." Bruce said to him. Dick gave him a look that begged him to stay.

"Okay. I'll stay." Bruce said calmly. Dick relaxed into his pillows and quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Dick woke up the next day. He was sore. He opened his eyes and spotted an empty chair next to his bed. About a minute later, Batman walked into the room.

"Well it's about time." Batman teased, pulling back his cowl. "Sorry I left for a few minutes. Even Batman has to use the bathroom once in a while." Dick smiled at that. "Can you talk to me now?"

"Yeahhh." Dick whispered.

"Good. How are you feeling?" Bruce asked, sounding concerned.

"Like I just fought Bane." Dick replied weakly.

"You sure did. Dick, I'm so sorry I couldn't find you sooner. I should have known where you were. I had a clue and I ignored it because I thought it was nothing." Batman explained.

"No Bruce, I'm sorry. I should have seen the Joker coming when I was on my way here." Dick said. Bruce nodded his head.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. One of his brainless thugs took you. Yes, you got captured, but you fought well and you stayed alive. You're a good fighter, Richard. I'm proud of you." Bruce told him. This made Dick feel a little better. "The team wants to see you. It's been 2 days since we found you. They've been going crazy over not being able to visit you even though you're right here." Bruce explained.

"Please help me with my mask and send them in." Dick asked. Bruce placed Dick's mask on and then replaced his own cowl. He left to go get the team. In less than a minute, the whole team came running into the room.

"Rob! How are you feeling dude?" Wally yelled.

"We are glad to see you awake, my friend." Kaldur said.

"We weren't sure when you were going to wake up." Artemis explained. "You really had us scared."

"Sorry." Robin said, jokingly.

"You're going to be out of commission for about a month." Conner said.

"That's okay. The computers need to be updated anyway." Robin said. Everyone laughed.

"How are you, Kaldur?" Robin asked.

"I am well. I am just glad that you are okay." Kaldur answered.

Batman walked back in the room after a few minutes.

"Alright team, you have training with Black Canary in 10 minutes. Go get warmed up." Batman said. The team obeyed and said bye to Robin. When they were gone, Batman walked over to Robin.

"Get some sleep. You need it. I will be back shortly. There are a few things at my office that I need to take care of. I will be bringing you back to the manor tomorrow." Batman said.

"Okay." Robin weakly responded. Batman was surprised that Robin didn't try to argue back. He must really be tired. Batman ran a hand through Robin's hair and then turned around and left. Robin fell right back to sleep. Batman was right, he needed it.


End file.
